Rescuers wait for the underground fire to be put out at Xiaonangou coal mine at Sangshuping Township of Hancheng City, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, July 18, 2010. All of the 28 miners who were working in the shaft were killed when an underground cable caught fire at about 8:10 p.m. Saturday at Xiaonangou coal mine, said the general office of the Shaanxi provincial government in a statement Sunday. Rescuers retrieved remains of five miners as of 6:30 a.m. Sunday. Police authorities in Shaanxi Province confirmed that they had detained the owner of the coal mine. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)

The victims were 15 people from Hubei Province, 10 people from Shaanxi Province, two people from Shandong Province and one from Hebei Province, said a government spokesperson in Hancheng City, where the accident happened.

Police said Sunday they had detained the coal mine's owner, Guo Yungang.

All 28 miners down the mine shaft were killed when an underground cable caught fire at about 8:10 p.m. Saturday at the Xiaonangou coal mine in Sangshuping Township, said the general office of the Shaanxi provincial government in a statement Sunday.

Rescuers had retrieved the remains of five miners by 6:30 a.m. Sunday and the location of the 23 other bodies has been determined, the statement said.

The underground fire is still raging, so rescuers cannot enter the shaft, said rescuers.

Monitoring equipment has been set up to monitor gases and oxygen concentrations.

Run by Xinxin Mining Co. Ltd., the mine was being extended. Annual output at the mine was expected to rise to 90,000 tonnes from 30,000 tonnes on completion of the extension.